Adjustable blank-holder for pattern-grading and other machines



A. F. PRESTON.

ADJUSTABLE BLANK HOLDER FOR PATTERN GRADING AND OTHER MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 9, i917.

A AM M O r %m w P A. F. PRESTON;

ADJUSTABLE BLANK HOLDER FOR PATTERN GRADING AND OTHER MACHINES.

v APPLIIATION FILED FEB, 9.;1917.

1,328,689, I Patented Jan, 20, 1920.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2- %N' 33% A w a 'onirnn srATEs PATENT onrion.

ALBERT F. PRESTON, 015 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

ADJUSTABLE BLANK-1101313152 13, FOR PATTERN-GRADING ANB OTHER MACHINES Application filed February 9, 1917.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ALBERT F. PRESTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Blankl-lolders for Pattern-Grading and other Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to means for holding a blank in a manner such that an article of desired form may be outlined thereon or cut therefrom, the purpose of the invention being primarily to provide a means by which a blank may be adjusted relatively to the tool which outlines or cuts the article from the blank, in order that local modifications or variations, more or less marked or extensive, may be made in the outline of the article, varying from the eX- act proportionality to the model in a desired manner and to the desired extent.

The particular embodiment of the invention here illustrated is designed and adapted to be used in connection with machines for grading and cutting patterns for the parts of shoes, said machines being of the type illustrated in my prior patents for pattern grading and cutting machine No. 951,886,

March 15, 1910, and power cutting grading machines No. 1,105,584, July 28, 1914-, respectively; in which are provided means for holding a model. pattern and for holding a sheet of stock, with a. cutter and proportional motion mechanism adjustable for enabling the pattern out from the stock to be enlarged or reduced proportionately to the dimensions of the model. In the drawings 1 have shown so much of the machine illustrated in Patent No. 1,105,534: above named as is necessary for an explanation of the principles of the present invention. It is to be understood, however, that this illustration shows simply one embodiment of the invention adapted to a special use, and is not intended as a limitation of the invention either as to its specific construction or to any specific use. I

Generically the invention comprises a means for holding a blank in relation to a model in such a manner that an article may be cut from the blank or outlined in the blank, provided with means for shifting Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 20, 1920.

Serial No. 147,708.

either the blank or the model with respect to the other wherebv a local departure from the proportional relation to the model of the article to be produced, may be effected.

With this explanation, having made it clearly understood that the illustration is" not a limitation of the invention, I will proceed with a detailed description of the particular illustration here presented.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine of the type shown in my Patents Nos. 1

1,105,534 and 951,886, having my present invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the jack which forms a part of the machine and by which the model pattern and the sheet of stock from which a pattern more or less similar to the model is to be cut. are carried.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section enlarged through that part of the jack which secures the model and the stock, showing in detail the device wherein my present invention is themovable jack which carries the model pattern 12 andv the sheet of stock 13 from which a graded pattern is to be cut. The jack has a base 1a which rests on a bed 15 and is ted to be moved thereover. Said jack is connected with the stationary cutter head. by an adjustable proportional motion mechanism, or pantograph linkage, comprising the links 16 and 17 and a guide bar 18. Said linkage causes movement of the. guide 19 against which the edge of the model pattern is held and past which the same is moved, such movements of" the guide causing the latter to be shifted relatively to the cutter as the jack is respectively moved toward the cut and moved away th from. For a complete illustration of the construction and mode-of operation of the grading-and cutting mechanism attention is directed to my prior patents aforesaid. As

the present invention does not involveany top clamp 21, a modelpattern bottom clamp" 22 and a model top clamp 23. The clamp 20 is set swiveling on a post 2 1, and the clamp 23 is on a stem 26 which is contained in the upper member of the jack'and is movable endwise and also rotatably therein. The jack hastop slots 27 and 28 to receive the model and'the stock sheet, respectively.

The post 25 carryingthe clamps 21 and 22 is movable endwise and rotatably in a bushing 29 fastened in the jack, with which is engaged a head 30 provided with a guideway for the rod 18 and having a pivot to which thelink'16is pivoted,ias shown in Fig.2. A spring '31, which is here composedof two dished resilient washers placed back to back, surrounding post 25 between clamp 22 and the'adjacentpart of the jack, tends to raise the clamp 22 and post 25, thereby separating clamp 21 from clamp 20, leaving an open space into which the stock sheet can be inserted, and being yieldable enough to permit the model pattern to be slipped easily between the clamps 22 and A cam lever 32 pivoted on a pin 33 fixed in the jack is arranged to apply pressure to.the end of the stem26, whenthrown over into the position'shown'in Fig. 2, so as to cause the clamps to grip the model and stock respectively inserted between them. Certain of the clamps, for instance clamps 22 and 21, have pointed projections or pins 34, 35, respectively, adapted to indent the pattern and stock and thereby hold the same with additional security.

Oneof the novel features of the invention consists in the provision of meansfor shifting one of the stock sheet clamps, for instance the top clamp 21, with respect to the other clamps. For this purpose said clamp is provided with a slot 36 into which the post 25 projects, said slot being approximately as wide as, but considerably longer than the diameter of the post, as appears best in Fig. 5-and alsosho'wn' in Fig. 3. A screw 37 is rotatively supported at its ends in the clamp and its intermediate part passes through the post'25 and is engaged with threads in the latter; A' locking pin 38 passing athwart the'screw'and lying in a groove in the shank thereof preventsaccidental removal of the latterl Said pin may, however, be removed in order'to permit disassembling of the parts;

The'screw 37 has aslotted head whereby it may betur'ned by 'a' screw-driver andin the outer face of the clamp 20 adjacent-- to said head are grooves or equivalent graduations 39 adapted to measure in connection with the slot the extent of rotation of the screw. Said slot thus serves as an index and the marks 39 as complemental indicating means for measuring the angle or extent of rotation of the screw, and by consequence, the extent of shifting of theclamp with re spect to the post 25 and to the other clamps.

It wil'lbe obvious from the foregoing description that when the screw 37 is turned the top clamp of the stock sheet is shifted bodily. This shiftingveauses the stock sheet to be moved also, because the bottom clamp 20 is smooth on its surface offering no resistance but that of friction to the movement of the sheet, and the pins 35 on the clamp 21 make it impossible for the latter to slip over the sheet. Such movement can take place even when the model and stock are clamped as shown in Fig. 2, and it is ordinarily effected in this manner in the normal operation of the invention.

The utility of this invention may be explained by reference to the fact that in the making of graded patterns for shoe uppers it is desirable that certain parts of patterns of thedifi'erent sizes should not be pro portionally graded with respect to the model pattern. For instance, consider the vamp and particularly that part called the throat, which is the front part of that edge of the vamp to which the quarter is stitched. lVith reference to Fig. 1, in which the model illustrated is a vamp pattern, the throat is the part indicated at 40. The standard pattern, with respect to which patterns of different sizes are graded, is an intermediate size, in which the distance from the throat to the toe end of the vamp is the distance which has been determined as correct for a shoe of a particular size and style.

Requirements of the trade, determined mainly by appearance and style, demand that in making patterns of larger and smaller sizes than the standard, the distance from the throat to the toe should neither be enlarged nor reduced proportionately to the enlargement or reduction, respectively, of the other parts of the pattern, but that. in all sizes the particular distance referred to should be'approximately the same. There fore, in the course of outlining and cutting a graded pattern, the adjusting device 37 is operated just prior to cutting out the throat portion in such direction as to cause the throat to be cut deeper proportionately than the throat of the model, in the case of an enlarged pattern,and less deep proportionately, in the case of a reduced pattern. In

order to effect this particular result the the adjustment described causes the stock sheet to be either advanced or withdrawn with respect to the cutter, whereby the throat is cut respectively either more or less deep. The amount by which the pattern is thus shifted is measured by the slot of the adjusting screw 37 with respect to the grooves or graduation. marks 39.

Similar adjustments for a like purpose may be made in cutting out graded patterns for the uppers of sandals when it required that the straps on the forepart of the vamp should be of substantially the same width for all sizes, or should be located relatively nearer to or farther from the toe in the clifferent sizes.

It is, of course, obvious that the adjust ment may be applied to any one of the three other clamp members with exactly the same effect as secured by the particular arrangement shown, wherefore I do not limit the invention involved therein to association with any particular one of the several clamping members.

I have explained the purpose and mode of operation of the invention thus fully in detail in order that the principles of the invention may be clearly understood. I desire to repeat here and to emphasize that this detailed description is not a limitation of the invention, but that I include within the scope of the same as claimed, means having the characteristics pointed out in the claims operable to shift a piece of stock of any sort with respect to a model of any character, or vice versa, in any type of apparatus where articles are outlined or out like or similar to a pattern, whereby local variations from proportionality or identity of form between the article produced and the pattern may e secured.

Another feature of the invention which I desire to protect herein consists in the means for rotating the clamps with the model and stock in order to bring different parts of the model to the guide and corresponding parts of the stock to the cutter. It is obvious from an inspection of Fig. 1 that thos parts of the model and stock which are shown as partly covered by the jack must be turned clear of the jack in order to be brought into operative engagement with the guide and cutter respectively. The leans for so turning the same comprises a handle ll on a shank 42 which is pivoted to a disk 4-3 mounted to turn freely about the stud 26 and resting on the pattern top clamp 28. The latter has notches 44 in its periphery and the handle shank has a stud 45 which is adapted to be inserted into any one of said notches, the position of the pivot which connects said shank to disk 43 being such that by swinging the shank about the pivot the said stud can be entirely withdrawn from the notches. Thereby the handle may be carried around and engaged with any desired part of the clamp, and when thus engaged it may also be swung so as to turn all of the clamps, and the model and the stock in unison.

WVhat I claim and desire to secure by Let tel-s Patent is:

1. In a machine for outlining from a blank an article similar to a model, a holder for the blank and model, complemental clamps for holding the model, complemental. clamps for holding the blank, both sets of clamps being mounted on said holder rotatably and in alinement to rotate about the same axis, and means for shifting one of said clamps transversely of said axis.

2.,The combination with a holder, of a pair of complemental clamps mounted rotatably on said holder adapted to grasp a model, a second pair of clamps also rotatably mounted on said holder coaxially with the first-named clamps adapted to grasp a blank, means connecting clamps of the two pairs arranged to cause rotation of one to be transmitted to the other, and means for shifting one of said connected clamps transversely of the common axis of rotation.

3. A pattern and blank holder comprising two sets of clamps in alinement, one set be ing adapted to secure a pattern and the other to secure a blank, a post connected to one of the clamps of both sets, and means for shifting one of said clamps with the blank, or the model, to cause a displacement of the blank with respect to the model or vice versa.

4. A clamping appliance comprising two sets of clamps having a predetermined relation to one another, a post on which one of said clamps is mounted, said last-named clamp being movable laterally with respect to said post, and a micrometer adjusting device for so moving said clamp.

5. A clamping appliance comprising two sets of clamps having a predetermined rela tion to one another, a post on which one of said clamps is mounted, said last-named clamp being movable laterally with respect to said post, and a SIIGW engaged with said clamp and post for so shifting the clamp.

6. The combination of two clamps, a connecting post on which said clamps are mounted, clamps complemental to each of said connected clamps, means for holding said clamps all in alinement, one of the clamps being formed with provision for lateral movement with respect to the post on which it is mounted, and a screw engaged with said clamp and the post for so moving the clamp.

7. A clamping appliance comprising two sets of clamps having a predetermined relation to one another, a post on which one of said clamps is mounted, said last-named.

clamp being movable laterally with respect to said post, and a screw engaged with said clamp and post for so shifting the clamp and indicating means for measuring the eX- tent of rotatioinoif said screw.

8. The combination of a holder, clamps mounted in line on said holder and arranged in two pairs adapted to grasp a model and a blank respectively, a post interposed between the intermediate clamps, said intermediate clamps, the post, and one of the end clamps being all movable in the line of their alinement, means for applying pressure to said end clamp in such line to effect gripping action of the clamps, and means. for moving one of the clamps transversely of said line to cause a change in the relation between the model and blank.

9. The combination of a holder, clamps mounted in line on said holder and arranged in two pairs adapted to grasp a model and a blank respectively, a post interposed between the intermediate clamps, said inter mediate clamps, the post, and one oi the end clamps being all movable in the line of their alinement, means for applying pressure to said end clamp in such line to effect gripping action of the clamps, and a screw engaged with one of said clamps and with said post operable to shift such clamp transversely of the post.

10. The combination. of a holder, clamps mounted in line on said holder and arranged in two pairs adapted to grasp a model and a blank respectively, a post interposed between the intermediate clamps, said intermediate clamps, the post, and one of the end clamps being all movable in the line of their alinement, means for applying pressure to said end clamp in such line to effect gripping action of the clamps, one of said intermediate clamps having a slot into which said post extends, and a screw mounted in the last named slot and threaded through the post lengthwise of said slot, being operable to shift said clamp transversely of the post.

11. In combination with a pattern grading machine including a guide for engagement by a model pattern, a tool for outlining a graded pattern in a sheet of stock, a holder for the model pattern and a blank of stock, and proportional motion mechanism between said holder, guide, and tool; means mounted on said holder for grasping the model and blank respectively, and means for shifting one of said grasping means rela tively to the other toward or away from the guide and outlining tool, whereby to efiect a local variation in' the graded pattern from proportionality or identity with the model.

1:2. In combination with a pattern grading machine including a guide for engagement by a model pattern, a tool for outlin ing'a graded pattern in a sheet of stock, a holder for the model pattern and a blank of stock, and proportional motion mechanism' ing a graded pattern in a sheet of stock, a

holder lor the model pattern and a blank of stock, and proportional motion mechanism between said holder, guide, and tool; the holder comprising means for shifting the stock blank relatively to the model toward or away from the outlining tool, whereby to eiiiect local variation from exact proportionality or identity between the model and the reproduced pattern;

14:. A model and blank holder comprising a jack, alined model and blank-holding clamps mountedrotatably in said jack, one of said clamps being adjustable transversely of the line of clamps, and a handle engageable with one of said clamps for turning them, and the model and blank mounted upon them, in unison.

15. In combination with a setof rotatably mounted clamps, one of which has a series of recesses, a handle rotatably mounted with respect thereto, and having means for engaging any of said recesses to rotate the clamps.

In testimo'ny whereof I have affixed my signature. I

ALBERT F. PRESTON.

Correction in Letters Patent No. 1,328,689.

It is hereby certified that Letters Patent No. 1,328,689, granted January 20, 1920, upon the application of Albert F. Preston, of Boston, Massachusetts, for an improvement in Adjustable Blank-Holders for Pattern-Grading and other Machines, Were erroneously issued to the inventor, said Preston, Whereas said Letters Patent should have been issued to Alfred B. White, of Brookline, and John Abbott, of Winehester, Massachusetts, administrators of said Preston, deceased, as shown by the records of assignments in this office; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the rec rd of the case in the Patent Office. v

Signed and sealed this 22d day of June, A. D., 1920.

M. H. GOULSTON,

Acting Commissioner of Patents.

[SEAL] 

